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Jurassic Park Destination Sorna: Flight Down
The first book in my Jurassic Park: Destination Sorna series. If you have any questions or comments, do not post them on this page, but instead on the main JP: Destination Sorna page linked HERE. Chapter 1 The Lee family moved through the thick brush, looking for food, water, and shelter. "Where the hell are we, anyway?", asked Michael. "As I've told you seven times already, we have no idea!", said his father Thomas Lee. Michael sighed. Despite being father and son, Michael and Thomas looked radically different. Michael was a tall, thin teenager with large brown eyes and long blonde hair. He often wore a pair of black sunglasses, although he didn't have them on at this very moment. Meanwhile, Thomas was a compact, muscular figure with short black hair and green eyes. Michael never understood why he looked so different from his father, as his brother Conrad looked much alike his father, practically a miniature version of him. Conrad once attempted to explain this to Michael by telling him that he was adopted, but it turned out to be a cruel joke. That little creep, thought Mike to himself, looking back on the incident. He was still recovering from Conrad's sick prank, as it happened only shortly before they took off on their annual family vacation. This year they were going to Rio De Janeiro, but their plane crashed after being struck by lightning, and now they were stranded as the only survivors of the event. God knows where the hell they were, but nevertheless of their surroundings they knew they needed to find a food source, a body of water to drink from, and a safe place to camp. Judging from their surroundings, which included tropical plants such as ferns, palm trees, and cycads, they guessed they crashed somewhere not too far from their destination, but obviously still aways off. "What was that?", asked Conrad suddenly. "What was what?", asked his mother Edna. "I saw a little green lizardy thing scamper through the bushes just now, except it wasn't a lizard because it stood on two legs and had a long neck with a birdlike head". "This isn't another one of your pranks, is it Conrad?", asked Edna. "No, mom. I'm telling the truth this time, I swear!" "Probably nothing", reassured his mother. "There was also that huge bird we saw flying over a clearing earlier, remember?", asked Thomas. "Oh yeah", replied Edna. "It had like some sort of long crest behind its head or something, and it didn't seem to have any feathers." "This place sure is weird", said Michael. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ "At last!", cried Michael in relief as the family came across a wide river, that would serve as an efficient water source. Meanwhile, they saw various fishes swimming beneath the surface, some of which must have more than two feet long! They would keep the family fed for weeks. On the opposite side of the river was an enormous cliff that stretched parallell to the river in both directions as far as the eye could see, with a series of small caverns at the base. They would serve as efficient shelter. This oasis seemed like paradise. However, when Thomas bent down to the river to take a drink, he saw what he at first thought to be a series of rocks and logs move. Amidst the scaly mass, he spotted a pair of piercing yellow, reptilian eyes. A crocodile!, he realized with horror. And a very large crocodile at that, it must have been more than forty feet from nose to tail. Suddenly, not realizing that Thomas had spotted it, the water-logged behemoth leapt clear into the air, penetrating the wet surface and sending monstrous spurts of foamy water in all directions. Five-foot jaws snapped shut just inches from Thomas's foot, and he noticed that the horrific snout was strangely thin for a crocodile's, and that it ended in a swollen knob, on top of which sat a pair of flaring nostrils. The beast growled silently in frustration, and with a slide down the bank went back to drifting in the currents, soon floating out of sight. "What the hell was that! Was that a crocodile?", shouted Conrad in disbelief. "Watch your language young man!", Edna snapped. "Is this really the time mom?", asked Michael. Edna didn't seem to hear him. "If so, I've never seen a crocodile like that in my life!" shrieked Thomas. "It was a monster! It must have been more than forty feet long, and it had a very strange snout!". "Two-legged bird-lizards, featherless crested flyers, and now this?", exclaimed Michael. "What is up with the wildlife in these parts!". "I have no idea, but one thing's for sure. This place isn't safe. Let's go further downriver, maybe that horrible reptile won't follow us that far!". And with that, the family walked further along the bank until they were out of sight. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ "Alright, I think we lost him", said Thomas. "Hey, Dad look! A boat!", screamed Michael. Thomas came over to take a look. It was a small rowboat, and it looked fairly safe. Thomas climbed inside, but shrieked out loud when he saw a human skull under one of the seats! He took it out and held it up to the family, they all gasped. "Something tells me this will be us if we use this boat", said Thomas. "C'mon, dad. That guy just got unlucky.", said Conrad. "We'll be fine, I don't see anything dangerous around". "Alright, we'll give it a shot!", said Thomas reluctantly. The family stepped inside. Thomas and Edna each picked up an oar to row to the other side of the river. Thomas got out first, but stopped dead in his tracks when he saw a trail of strange footprints leading out of the cavern facing him. He guessed they were bird prints, but if so they were very, very big birds. He gulped, and entered the cave, What's happening to us, where the hell are we. To his surprise, Thomas saw a large mass of bedded straw inside, with roughly half a dozen strange, speckled rocks lying on top. It would make a perfect bed. He rolled the rocks onto the cave floor, and whistled to his family. They all followed him into the cave. "Wow! Look at that!", said Michael. "This will make the perfect bed, dad!". "That's just what I was thinking son". "I think we're all going to like it here", said Edna. Boy, were they wrong. Chapter 2 A thunderstorm rolled in that night. The family had started a fire inside the cave, and they were all sitting around it. They could hear the rain drumming outside, and every once in a while a loud clap of thunder would make them jump. Occasionally, a string of lightning shot down from the swirling black clouds above and illuminated the frightening darkness of the jungle beyond their cozy little cave. "Mom, I'm scared", said Conrad. "Don't be a baby!", Michael shot back. Thomas and Edna didn't bother to say anything, Thomas just warmed his hands by the fire, while Edna nervously twirled her long red hair. Suddenly, the family was aware of loud grunting, snuffling, and clawing noises behind them. Little did they know, these sounds had been going on for a while, but they were too distracted by the storm to notice them before now. The family then became very nervous, and Conrad shrieked when he saw a pair of demonic dark eyes staring at him from the darkness beyond the fire-lit part of the cave. With a bloodcurdling shriek, the unseen animal lunged, and the family retreated. They blindly headed straight out into the storm. A large dark shape moved silently and swiftly behind them. Suddenly, a flash of sheet lightning illuminated the animal's body. Conrad gasped as the realization dawned on him that he recognized this animal. It was a dinosaur, specifically a Ceratosaurus. There was only one place in the world where dinosaurs still existed, either they had landed in that place, or had been somehow transported back in time. "Mom, dad! I know what this thing is!", said Conrad. "That's not important at the moment, son!", said Thomas. The dinosaur roared and moved slowly toward the family, knowing it had cornered them. "Alright, that's it!", shouted Thomas. He grabbed a large rock and hurled it straight at the dinosaur's head. It collapsed to the ground. The animal's head lolled to the side, and its eyes rolled up into its head. It was dead, or at the very least comatose. Thomas cautiously approached the monster's body. It was large, but slender. It had wild yellow eyes, now blank with death, and large jaws filled with dozens of small, serrated teeth. It had a small horn on its nose. It stood on two powerful-looking back legs, with a long thick tail extending horizontally behind them. Its head was a dark colour, while its body was lighter with pale stripes. "What the hell is this thing?", asked Thomas. "It's a dinosaur, dad!", answered Conrad. "We must be on Isla Sorna". "Where?", asked Edna. "The dinosaur island, mom. Remember, it was on the news." "Oh yeah, I remember that now", said Edna. "Great, here we are stuck on an island of dinosaurs. We're gonna die!", cried Michael. As if on cue, a dinosaur bellowed in the distance. Michael started sobbing uncontrollably. "Who's the baby, now?", teased Conrad. For whatever the reasons, the dinosaur bellow and Michael's sobbing triggered a realization in Thomas. He finally realized why the dinosaur had attacked them. It wasn't trying to eat them, because if it were it probably would not have roared and stomped as much as it did. It must have been trying to defend the family's bed, or more correctly, the dinosaur's nest. He also guessed that the speckled rocks he tossed away were actually the dinosaur's eggs. No wonder it had chased them out. Thomas then knew, with guilt, that it was his fault that his family was now shivering in the storm with no shelter or safety. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Thomas Lee opened his eyes and looked around the clearing. The rest of his family was still asleep. He stretched, but shrieked when he felt a sharp pain in his backside. He and the others couldn't find sufficient shelter, so they were forced to sleep on the hard jungle floor. Thomas then noticed that his clothes were soaked from the rain. Another fabulous day of struggling for survival in a primordial world, he thought. Suddenly, he heard rustling in the bushes and a large animal emerged into the campsite and hissed a warning upon seeing Thomas. Thomas thought it was the most bizarre creature he had ever seen. It had a small, box-shaped skull that ended a heavy, barrel-like body with little legs that sprawled out to the sides like a lizard's. It dragged a long, heavy tail behind it. Strangest of all, a grey sail, spotted yellow, hung upon the back of the animal. It growled, this time waking up the rest of the family. "Dimetrodon!", Conrad shrieked. "He's not a dinosaur, he's not even from the same time! What's he doing here?". "I don't know, son! But we need to drive him off somehow!". The big lizard waddled toward them, its mottled grey-and-green hide stretching and creasing with every step. Suddenly, the family heard another hiss from the opposite side of the clearing. An identical creature slithered out of the bushes. The two lizards had cornered the family, one on one side, and its mate on the other. The family knew there was no escape. Conrad started crying. "It's okay, honey.", reassured Edna. "We'll get out of this", but even as she said this, she wasn't sure. She had never been in such a precarious situation before. Suddenly, a thundering roar echoed throughout the trees, and the Dimetrodons retreated, as if in fear of whatever had just roared. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Suddenly, the same roar reverberated again, much closer this time, and the family could feel the earth tremble beneath their feet, they could hear the monster crashing through the forest. The crashing sounds were faint at first, but gradually they got closer, until the huge predator was upon them. It stood on two powerful legs like tree trunks, that ended in large three-clawed feet. Its body was long and powerfully-built, with a massive tail rolled out behind it. A pair of small but powerful-looking, two-fingered arms dangled from the animal's chest. Above them was a thick neck, with muscles that rippled every time it twisted. Its head was the most terrifying of all. Nearly the length of a man, and split by terrifyingly huge jaws. Its eyes blazed down at the humans. They recognized what it was, but couldn't believe it was here. It was the most powerful creature in the history of the planet, Tyrannosaurus rex! It roared a third time, and this time there was an answering roar, similar but slightly higher in pitch. The tyrannosaur snapped its head in the direction of the sound. A crocodilian head peeked from the ferns, followed by a massive body, topped with a bizarre sail of skin, that blushed red with anger. It looked even more menacing and powerful than the tyrannosaur. Conrad recognized it as a Spinosaurus. The two behemoths circled each other, sizing each other up, when the Spinosaurus struck the first blow, hitting the tyrannosaur in the face with its hand claws. It then lashed out with its tail, knocking the Tyrannosaurus off its feet. The dinosaur fell to the ground. The tyrannosaur struggled to get up, as the Spinosaurus approached, preparing to initiate the killing strike. But just as the Spinosaurus was looming over the injured tyrannosaur, the fallen dinosaur grabbed the larger predator's neck with its jaws and slammed it to the ground. It then got all the way back on its feet and swung the Spinosaurus right into a tree, knocking it over. The family and the tyrannosaur both knew that the spinosaur must have been dead. The tyrannosaur roared his victory and lumbered over to the fallen dinosaur. It roared weakly, a spark of life still in its dying body. The tyrannosaur finished the job by stomping on the dinosaur's head. Now it was, for truth, dead. Just as the tyrannosaur began to feed, the family ran off into the bushes. Chapter 3 The Lee family sprinted deep into the jungle, in a desperate attempt to escape the tyrannosaur. They imagined it had been pursuing them the entire run, but it was actually miles away, still feeding on the Spinosaurus carcass. Suddenly, Thomas bumped into a huge dark shape. It bellowed menacingly. "Oh, no! Not another one!", wailed Thomas. "Relax, dad. This one's an herbivore", said Conrad. Thomas took a few steps away from the giant, and was now able to see it more clearly. It didn't have any interest in the family at all. It simply stood on its hind legs, browsing from the treetops. Thomas then realized that its head was not that of a flesh-eater. It was shallow and blunt, ending in a parrot-like beak. Its eyes were gentle and somewhat bovine. It raked a branch with a large claw on its thumb, and stuffed it into its mouth. It began to chew slowly. "This one's called an Iguanodon", said Conrad. "Really, sure doesn't look like any iguana I've ever seen", said Thomas. "That's because they thought it looked like one when they first discovered it. All they had were a couple of teeth to work with, which were similar to an iguana's, so they imagined it was basically a giant iguana". Suddenly, a smaller creature emerged from the ferns. The larger Iguanodon bent down and nuzzled the little critter. It was a baby Iguanodon. Suddenly, a series of screams reverberated one by one through the canopy. A man-sized creature leapt into the clearing. Unlike the Iguanodon, it appeared to be a meat-eater. Its head was narrow, with jaws filled with small, sharp teeth. Its eyes were red and menacing. It balanced a very long, thin tail behind it. It stepped slowly toward the Iguanodon, its sharp claws clicking against the forest floor with each step. Two more identical creatures leapt out and followed behind the lead flesh-eater. "Velociraptors!", Conrad shrieked. Conrad had read the accounts of previous visitors to the island, and their descriptions of encounters with these dinosaurs were rarely pleasant. The lead raptor screamed again. The mother Iguanodon bellowed and motioned to her baby to get behind her. "Come on, we've got to get out of here!", said Michael. The family ran, but stopped when they heard a high-pitched shriek. At first, they thought the baby Iguanodon had been killed, but then they saw two of the raptors race past them, fleeing from the scene. "Looks like the Iguanodons won", said Edna. "Yeah", agreed Conrad. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The family continued to walk aimlessly through the jungle. Conrad began to walk away. Eventually, he came to a cluster of ferns that he then parted. He was amazed at what lay beyond. An open plain was spread out below him. A thin river split it in half, and several Ankylosaurus drank from it. Farther beyond, a herd of Maiasaura watched over their nests. Most amazing of all was a gigantic Apatosaurus in the distance, lumbering toward a tree. Just as the apatosaur reared up on its hind legs to graze from the tree, a bloodcurdling roar broke the peace and tranquility of the valley. From the wooded border of the plain, a pack of five or six large flesh-eaters emerged. They were Allosaurus, the top predators of the Jurassic period. The leader of the pack roared and bounded toward the apatosaur. The sauropod bellowed and lashed out with its tail, knocking the predator off its feet. The remaining allosaurs cornered a young maiasaur. One of the theropods leapt forward and grabbed the herbivore's neck. With a snap and a twist of the allosaur's head, the maiasaur drooped to the ground. The allosaurs gathered around for the feast. The rest of the herbivores in the valley fled. Conrad walked away in awe, amazed at what he had just witnessed. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Just as dusk fell, the family came across a large compound in the middle of a jungle clearing. Conrad had since returned from his exciting view of a dino crime scene, but not without a lecture from his parents not to wander off like that, and that they were worried sick and blah-blah-blah. Conrad, being a somewhat rebellious child, had to endure these painful lectures often. Conrad's thoughts were interrupted as Thomas said "This will be a good place to make camp for the night". The family walked inside. They came into a large, lobby-like room, and beyond stood a pair of huge glass doors. The family opened them. Inside there were a series of large pens, most of which were quite worn out and tattered, with large holes and rips in the fencing, indicating that animals had escaped. "This must be the facility where InGen nurtured their dinosaurs before they were moved off to the park". "You sure seem to know a lot about this place", noted Thomas. "I've read a lot about it, after all it is the only place on earth where dinosaurs still exist", said Conrad. The family continued wandering through the building, and in what they considered to be an amazing stroke of luck, they discovered the employee quarters, each with a bed, television, and refrigerator. They guessed that the TVs no longer worked, and the food had most certainly gone bad, but at least the beds were functional. "Alright, we'll sleep here", said Thomas. "Everyone pick a room". The family each picked a bedroom and went to sleep. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Thomas was sound asleep, when he was awoken by a ruckus outside his room. He checked his wristwatch, it was 3:00 am. He opened the door, and saw the floor in front of him quiver, as though weight were being put on it, although he couldn't see anything. He heard heavy breathing beside him, and the stench of rotting flesh filled his nostrils. He gagged and turned his head, nothing was there. He knew there must have been something in the room, but something that was very good at hiding. He attempted to shoo it off by making a lot of noise, and he then saw the vague outline of something large flee from the building. Satisfied that he had driven it off, Thomas went back to his room. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The Velociraptor awoke from his dream. It was the same dream he always had. He is hunting with his mate and four chicks through a strange forest, filled with strange-looking trees and plants. This forest stretches for miles, until eventually it fades into an open plain, both the forest and the plain are ringed by a fortress of active volcanoes. The raptor feels that his dream world is not a place existing in the present scheme of things, but instead a world of very long ago, when the dawning earth appeared out of nowhere as a bundle of unbridled chaos and diversity. The Velociraptor hears the screeching of huge reptiles flapping on leathery wings above his head, he hears the eerie cries erupting from the trees. At last, he scents prey and lunges forward, followed by his family. They come to a stream, flowing from a small waterfall on the horizon, where dozens of duck-billed reptiles drink. A curious youngster crosses the shallow stream to investigate a fern on the raptor family's bank. The male leaps onto the back of the adolescent animal, and works its way down to its neck, which he clamps his jaws tightly around. Eventually, the young hadrosaur is suffocated and collapses to the ground. He and his family begin to feed, but by this point his dream turns into an awful nightmare. He scents death lurking in the shadows, and hears the thud of heavy feet. At last, a terrible monster crashes through the foliage toward their kill, roaring menacingly. The raptor knows instinctively that this predator wants his kill. There is no way he can challenge the animal, so he and his family flee, leaving the tyrannosaur to the abandoned corpse. Then, in a scene that frightens him even more than the thieving tyrannosaur attack, he sees a bright light shine through the highest leaves of the trees, and hears an impossibly loud boom. He and his family are blown off their feet and into the blackness of eternal nothingness. He then wakes up, both terrified and relieved at the same time. The Velociraptor screeched a wakeup call to his family, they came running to his side. He then disappeared into the bushes. He was ravenously hungry after a night's sleep, and he and his family were going hunting for breakfast. Chapter 4 Conrad opened his eyes and yawned, sunlight filled the room. It was morning. To his surprise he found that the rest of his family was already awake, and eating breakfast. "What the heck are you guys eating", asked Conrad. "Your father caught a wildcat of some sort out in the jungle". "Gross", said Conrad. "Well, little bro, it's not like we have that many choices on THIS menu, especially considering we're on it", said Michael. "I guess you're right", and with that, Conrad came and grabbed a leg. "This isn't half bad", said Conrad, "how'd you cook it". Thomas didn't say anything, but pointed to a fire outside the door. "Ohhh", said Conrad. "By the way, that fire gives me an idea", realized Thomas. "We could set a fire deeper out in the jungle, and then maybe pilots flying overhead will see the smoke". "That's a great idea!", said Conrad. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ The Velociraptor stalked through the jungle, followed by his family. Suddenly, he paused and motioned to them. A small flock of Hypsilophodon grazed nearby. The male Velociraptor stalked them through the tall ferns, and finally pounced. The hypsilophodonts began to flee. The raptor realized this would be difficult, hypsilophodonts were nearly as fast as he was. He locked his sights on the slowest individual in the flock, and pounced. His claws dug deep into the small dinosaur's back, it screeched in agony. Meanwhile, the male's mate grabbed hold of the hypsilophodont's throat, and began to squeeze with her jaws. The chicks nibbled bits out of the herbivore's tail. Eventually, the hypsilophodont realized it was all too much and dropped its head to the ground, it was dead. The raptors began to feed. They enjoyed hunting, the stalking, the thrill of the chase, and they especially loved the kill. They enjoyed hearing the sound of crunching bones, snapping tendons, and blood squirting like bottles of ketchup. But most of all, the raptors loved the taste of the meat, which tasted even more delicious after having to work for it, especially since most of the time the prey got away, they didn't get to enjoy it too often. Suddenly, the raptor recognized a familiar scent, heard a familiar sound, saw the faint outline of a truly deadly predator, a predator his instincts labelled as the "Invisible Death". Every dinosaur on the island feared it, because it had incredible camouflage abilities. Even mighty carnivores like Tyrannosaurus had trouble fighting this beast, since they never knew where it was striking from. The Invisible Death was possibly the most terrifying animal on Isla Sorna. The raptor and his family abandoned their kill and ran off into the ferns. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ "Alright, first things first, we're gonna need to gather some firewood", said Thomas. "I think we should split up. Michael, you come with me, and Conrad, you go with your mother". "Alright", said Edna. "Come on Conrad, let's go". Meanwhile, Thomas and Michael headed in the opposite direction. Just as they began their trek, Thomas said "Stop, I heard something". Michael obeyed, and stopped behind him. The bushes began to rustle, and a large dinosaur leapt out. It looked like a Velociraptor, except it must have been more than 20 feet long. Its body was yellowish brown in colour, with a white underbelly. Its neck, back, and tail were covered with black spots and stripes. It was a Utahraptor. The dinosaur screeched and leapt for Thomas. The muscular man was toppled to the ground. He wrestled with the creature, stretching its jaws wide open and pushing back to keep it from biting him. However, the raptor managed to slash a wound in Thomas's shin. It then leapt off and ran back into the bushes. Thomas rasped in pain and clutched the wound. "You okay, dad?", asked Michael. "I think I'll be fine, son, just a little...wait, are you chewing gum?". "Yeah why?", said Michael, confused. "Spit it out, I have an idea." Michael spit his gum into Thomas's hand. Thomas plucked one of the large leaves from a fern and stuck the gum to it. He then wrapped the leaf around his leg, the gum holding it in place. "That's pretty clever, dad", said Michael. "Thanks, now back to collecting that firewood". ___________________________________________________________________________________________ Meanwhile, as Edna and Conrad walked through the jungle, looking for firewood, they came across the same place they had first camped, with the same rowboat. "We could use this to scan the shores", said Conrad. "Good idea honey", said Edna. They climbed inside and each grabbed an oar. Before long they were rowing on the currents, scanning the shores for any firewood. Suddenly, Conrad noticed a dark shape rising toward them from beneath the surface. Suddenly, a long head emerged and snapped at the boat. Conrad guessed it was a crocodile. The head then disappeared back underwater, and Conrad watched the crocodile swim out of sight. He breathed a momentary sigh of relief, when suddenly the animal leapt onto the back of the boat. Conrad then realized that the creature was no crocodile, it was a dinosaur, a Baryonyx. Edna smacked the creature in the head with her oar, and sent it flying off the boat. It sank into the water. The two first thought that it must have been dead, until they saw its back break the surface. Conrad and Edna watched as the dinosaur rolled back under the waves and swam out of sight, in search of some other prey. However, their relief wouldn't last long, as suddenly a flock of Dimorphodon dove straight at their boat. "There are too many of them", said Edna. "We're going to have to work together". The two fought through the approaching pterosaurs with their oars, sending them whirling through the air into the water, as more and more of them continued to dive from the sky like fighter planes. "Alright, I think that was the last of them", said Conrad shortly afterward, as he whacked the final flying reptile with the paddle. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ "Finally", said Thomas. "Here's some firewood right here". He gathered several sticks and small logs from under a tree. Suddenly, he paused and looked at Michael. "What's going on, Mike? You seem to be looking at something". "Not exactly", said Michael. Confused, Thomas looked in the direction of Michael's interest, and then realized what he meant. He saw nothing but the trees, but every now and then he thought he saw movement. Suddenly, an outline burst from the trees and raced after the two. It was practically invisible, with the only sign that it was there at all being faint growling and heavy breathing. Suddenly, the dinosaur's camouflage flashed off for a moment, and for a few seconds it was visible. Thomas was only able to notice an ox-sized body with a short deep skull, topped with two cattle-like horns, before the animal vanished again. Thomas blindly threw a small rock in the direction of the creature. It bounced off an invisible surface, which meant that Thomas had hit the animal. He heard crunching on the grass that grew fainter and fainter as the creature ran away. "That was just like the dinosaur I saw in our camp a couple of nights ago", said Thomas. "It also seemed to be invisible, just like this one". "How messed up does this island get!", shouted Michael. ___________________________________________________________________________________________ "Alright", said Edna. "I would think we've gathered enough firewood, but where exactly are we". "You're right, mom", said Conrad. "We seem to be completely lost". "Now, don't say that. I'm sure we can find our way back". "You can deny it all you want, mom. But you know it's true". Soon, they came to a large clump of trees. They parted them to find a clearing, the same clearing they went through earlier. How could they tell? Because right in the centre lay the rotting, fly-ridden corpse of the very same Spinosaurus that they had watched the Tyrannosaurus slaughter just the other day. In fact, they could see huge, bird-shaped footprints leading away into the brush, smattered with dried blood, that indicated the tyrannosaur had since abandoned the carcass. Several Compsognathus now feasted on the rotten leftovers. As Conrad and Edna passed, the compies hissed a warning. "I think we should probably leave now", said Edna. "These are compies, mom", said Conrad. "They're harmless, mostly scavengers. But maybe you're right, we should leave just in case". The two exited the clearing as the compies continued to hiss. Chapter 5 "Where the hell are Conrad and Edna", said Thomas. "I told them we would meet here". Thomas was referring to the clearing in the forest where they now sat, with all the firewood they had collected piled in a pit in the centre. "Maybe something terrible happened to them", Michael said worriedly. "Relax", said Thomas. "I'm sure nothing bad happened". "On an island of flesh-eating lizards, dad", Michael shot back, "I think its pretty likely". "Ok, fine. We'll wait a few more minutes, and then we'll go look for them". ______________________________________________________________________________________________ "Oh, shoot!", said Conrad. "We forgot the firewood!". "Don't worry, I'm sure Michael and your father collected enough". "You're probably right". Conrad and Edna suddenly heard something eating nearby. They followed the source of the sound, to find a very strange creature feeding on the carcass of a young apatosaur. It looked like a crocodile, except it stood on four erect legs instead of sprawling ones, and its head resembled that of a flesh-eating dinosaur. "It's a Postosuchus!", said Conrad. The postosuchid had not noticed the two until Conrad screamed its name. At that sound, it snapped its head in their direction and growled. "Oops, my bad", said Conrad. "I'll say", agreed Edna. The two backed away as the reptile stepped slowly toward them, hissing menacingly. "Mom, it doesn't want to eat us", Conrad suddenly realized. "How do you know?", asked Edna. "The same way I know that you don't want a piece of candy on the floor when you're eating a turkey dinner", said Conrad. "It has that Apatosaurus carcass right there, which is a lot bigger than either of us. Why would it try to eat us when it has a perfectly good meal already over there". "Good point", said Edna. "But, what does it want then?". "It thinks we're challenging it for its kill. If we run away, it will be convinced he's scared us off!", said Conrad. The two then ran off into the bushes as the Postosuchus returned to its meal. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ "I think it's been well over a few minutes", said Michael. "You're right", said Thomas. "We should probably find out what those two are up to". The father and son walked into the jungle, and before long they came across a set of human footprints that came their way, but then swerved to their left. "They were trying to find us", realized Thomas. "And they weren't far off either", chuckled Michael. "If they hadn't taken that turn, they would have come straight to us". Suddenly, they were both aware of heavy footsteps sounding in their direction, footsteps that made the ground shake. Suddenly, Michael and Thomas saw the huge jaws lean toward them, filled with jagged yellow teeth, before the huge mandibles snapped shut. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ "Hey, look!", said Conrad. He lunged forward, and Edna tried to keep up behind him. Conrad was referring to a clearing with a pit in the centre, filled with sticks and logs. "This must be where Michael and your father set camp", declared Edna. "But I don't see them around". Not knowing what else to do, the two continued their pointless trek through the jungle. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ Thomas and Michael awoke to find themselves in a shallow pit, bedded with soft straw. Broken pieces of eggshell littered the hole. The two suddenly heard a cry behind them, and spun around. They saw two small dinosaurs. Their bodies were short and chubby, with stumpy legs and arms, and they had big heads with large eyes, the typically "cute" features of a baby animal. Their bodies were covered in short fuzzy down, like baby birds. From snout to tail, they were roughly six feet long. "These are baby tyrannosaurs!", Michael suddenly realized. "The mother must have put us in here as food for them!". "Son, I hate to say this, but you might want to prepare to die", said Thomas grimly. They shut their eyes and waited for the two young dinosaurs to kill them, but when they didn't, they opened their eyes. The two youngsters were squabbling over their unfamiliar meal, biting and clawing at each other. Thomas and Michael realized that this would give them just enough time to escape. The two exited the nest, only to run into something they would never have expected. ______________________________________________________________________________________________ "There you two are!", said Edna. "Conrad and I were worried sick! Come on, let's go start that fire". Once again reunited, the family returned to the campsite, where they lit the fire and waited. "So do you think anyone will see this?", asked Conrad. "Maybe, son, maybe", said Thomas. "But get comfortable, because something tells me we're going to be here for a while". TO BE CONTINUED... Category:Jurassic Park IV